


Classroom Love Story

by CUKat23



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Art, Clexa, F/F, History, Teacher AU, clarke teacher, clexa au, former Clarke/Niylah fling, lexa athlete, lexa coach, lexa teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-04-20 23:17:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14271684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CUKat23/pseuds/CUKat23
Summary: Lexa was an all star collegiate soccer player with dreams of playing pro when a serious injury ended her career and her life spiraled out of control.  Several years later, Lexa has taken control of her life, went back to school, and managed to snag a teaching and head coach position at Polis High School.  She's prepared for teaching, coaching, and even unruly students but she could never prepare herself for the beautiful blonde art teacher in the classroom next door.Or The Clexa Teacher AU that none of you asked for but here it is.  Fair warning:  I know the title is really bad but I can't find one I like yet so it will change!  Dont't judge the fic based on the title lol





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter has been written for almost two months now and I haven't posted it because I have been so nervous. I am really excited for this fic and want it to be the best possible fic it can be so the updates might be a little slow because I won't except mediocre on this one but stick with me because I think this will be a good one. It's very personal to me and I'm invested in this thing and I hope you all love it.

Lexa Woods sat in her truck, looking up at the big, brick building in front of her. It had been a long time since she was intimidated by a high school but here she was, delaying getting out of her car until she absolutely had to.  She took a deep breath and reached into the passenger seat to grab her bag, the leather satchel bag with her initials engraved on it, that her sister had gotten her for graduation.  She stepped out into the warm air and pulled the strap of her bag over her head so that it rested on her right shoulder, stretched across her chest, and rested at her left hip.  It was nearing the end of summer but it was still quite hot in the mid-day, almost too hot for the charcoal grey dress pants and matching blazer that she was sporting.

 

She crossed the teacher’s parking area, which appeared to be almost full.  With it being only three days before school started for the students, she knew most of the teachers were here, making their final preparations for another school year. She looked up at the big sign standing in front of the doors that read “Polis High School: Home of the Warriors, 3-Time Regional Soccer Champs!”

 

She made her way through the front doors and straight to the main office where she saw a thin woman, maybe just a few years older than herself, with long, dirty blonde hair, working quietly on a computer.  She heard Lexa enter immediately and looked to the new face with a bright smile and kind eyes.

 

“Can I help you hon?” she asked Lexa.

 

“Yeah, actually. I’m looking for…” she looked down at the small piece of paper she had taken notes on when she received the call about getting the job at Polis. “Mr. Kane,” she finished.

 

“Ohh! Yes, let me see if I can figure out how to work this thing.”  Lexa watched as the woman messed with the phone for a couple minutes before finally looking relieved when the phone began to buzz as if it was ringing.  “Sorry, we just got a new phone system,” she explained as she held the receiver to her ear. She waited for a second and then spoke again but to someone on the phone, “Hey Marcus, you have someone here to see you. Okay, I’ll tell her.”  She hung up the phone and smiled at Lexa again. “He’ll be up here in just a few minutes.”

 

“I’m Lexa Woods,” the brunette announced a bit awkwardly.

 

“Hi Lexa. I’m Niylah Campbell.” If she noticed Lexa’s awkwardness, she didn’t speak of it.

 

Lexa smiles back politely, “Do you work for Mr. Jaha?”  She was horrible at small talk but figured she should at least try to make friends.

 

“Well I guess we all do technically, but no, not in the way you’re asking,” Niylah chuckled. “I’m actually a guidance counselor here but my computer has been on the fritz and Mrs. Green said I could borrow hers today since she isn’t coming in.” Niylah pointed to the name plate on the desk that read “Mrs. Green” as if to accentuate her point.

 

“Oh, sorry,” Lexa said.

 

“No apology necessary.”  The words were kind and sincere and Lexa could see why this woman was a guidance counselor.  “You should sit,” Niylah said pointing to one of the chairs sitting on the far side of the room.  “Marcus tends to get a little single-minded. If he was working on something when I called him, it could be a few minutes before he gets up here.”

 

Lexa nodded her understanding and picked a chair and sat down gracefully, pulling her bag into her lap.

 

A blonde caught Lexa’s eye as she entered the room a few seconds later.  She was a bit shorter than Lexa and leaned towards the curvy side.  She seemed to half skip, as she walked up to the chest-high counter separating the waiting area and the desk where Niylah was sitting.  Lexa watched as she placed both arms on the counter, crossing the left one over the right and tossed a bright, white smile at the other woman.

 

“Hey you,” the blonde said sweetly.

 

“Hey Clarke!” Niylah spoke, standing from her desk for the first time to step closer to the counter separating them.  “How was Australia?”

 

“Absolutely beautiful,” Clarke said dreamily. “I seriously think I lived there in another life. It just felt like home.”

 

“Did you get to paint any?” Niylah asked, now standing directly across from Clarke, her arms crossed in the same manner.

 

“So much! I couldn’t even bring it all home. I gave a bunch away. There was this little park I found to paint in with a beautiful view and sometimes people would compliment me on my work. So I started taking all of my finished pieces with me and when I saw those people again, I would just give them the paintings.  It seriously felt so nice to be doing what I love just for me again, you know? And then having other people enjoy my art because of it.  It was just so freeing.” The woman looked so happy and carefree that Lexa had a hard time looking away, despite wanting to avoid looking like a creep on her first day.

 

“That’s really wonderful to hear Clarke,”Niylah said, reaching across to touch the woman’s left hand.  Lexa didn’t miss the eye contact the two made and the intimacy of it.  She figured Niylah had forgotten she was there so she casually cleared her throat to remind the woman of her presence.

 

“Oh, Clarke, this is Lexa,” Niylah said politely.

 

Clarke turned to face Lexa and for the first time, she was able to see more than just her profile.  Her blonde hair that fell in small waves to her shoulders, was framing a soft, round face. Her blue eyes softly examined the taller woman who had stood to shake her hand.

 

“Clarke Griffin,” she said with a smile as she grasped Lexa’s hand in a firm grip.

 

“Lexa Woods,” Lexa offered back, finding herself smiling back at the girl.

 

“You the new blood around here?”  Clarke asked playfully.  “We had heard we were getting a new teacher but not much else.  Jaha likes to keep things close to the chest.”

 

“That’s me,” Lexa confirmed, dropping her hand to the side but never breaking eye contact with the blonde.

 

A door clicked loudly behind them and it startled Lexa a bit, causing her to jump slightly and turn to see what had caused the noise.  A tall man with a full head of graying hair and a thick beard to match had entered and smiled broadly when he laid eyes on Lexa. 

 

“You must be Lexa,” he said excitedly.  “I’m Marcus Kane, Assistant Principal and Athletic Director.”  He reached out and shook Lexa’s hand a bit roughly and then checked his watch when he pulled back.   “Sorry it took so long, I was finishing up some budget approvals and lost track of time.”

 

Lexa tried to hide her smile as she saw Niylah chuckle quietly and roll her eyes at the predictable man.  “It’s no problem really.  I was a little early.”

 

“Nonsense.  Early is on time in my book,” Marcus said.  “Come on, I’ll show you to your classroom first and then we’ll go have a look at the sports facilities.  We’re really excited to have someone of your background coaching our girls this year.  Our last few seasons were a little rough to say the least.”

 

Lexa had heard about the Warriors Girl’s Soccer team from her sister, Anya, who just so happened to be a gym teacher at Polis High.  The team had won division and regional championships 3 years running, several years ago but their coach at the time was offered a head coaching position at Arkadia University.  Since she had left, they hadn’t been able to get a coach to the school with any significant experience.   Their last coach was a fill-in when a prospective coach had dropped out of the running last year and had apparently left the field crying more times than the parents or the players liked, so, the position had reopened.  When Anya heard about it, she knew her sister would be the perfect fit for the job and it worked out that Lexa was finishing up her student teaching just in time.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

 

“Well, I’m excited to be here,” Lexa replied.  She let Marcus lead her out of the office and into the hallway but stopped when the man suddenly halted in front of her.

 

“Almost forgot,” he chuckled.  He spun on his heel and popped the door of the office open, sticking just his head inside.   “Clarke, your mom told me to ask you if you could please bring something for dessert to dinner tonight.  They asked her to work an extra shift this evening so she won’t have time to bake anything.”

 

“Sure, I’ll take care of it,” Lexa heard the blonde reply but couldn’t see her through the wood of the door. 

 

Marcus removed his head from inside the door and turned back to Lexa. “Okay, now we’re ready,” he said, leading Lexa down a wide hallway for about thirty yards before making a left and turning into a stairwell.  They began up the stairs as Marcus rambled off numbers about the amount of students that were in the school, how many of those were student athletes, and some of the clubs that the school hosted when they would occasionally pass some signage on the wall for them. 

 

They ended their tour in a dead end hallway that was shaped kind of like a cul-de-sac.  There was not much signage in the area and it looked newer than most of the other areas of the school which looked like they could use some love.  There were six doorways in total and Marcus directed his attention to one of the doors in the middle. 

 

“That will be your classroom,” Marcus said, starting to walk towards the big, brown door.

 

“Is this the history department?”  Lexa asked curiously, thinking it looked a bit small for the number of students Marcus had mentioned earlier in their walk.

 

“Oh, actually, no.  Most of the departments are grouped together but as I was saying earlier, a few years ago we had an unnaturally large population spike.  The town built that large outdoor mall and it’s drawn in lots of new residents, meaning we have a lot more students than we were equipped to handle.  This wing was added on three years ago and we hired about ten new teachers that year.  This hallway has ended up being a bit of a mixture of classes, and houses most of our new and younger teachers.  Most of them are probably pretty close to your age,” Marcus said.  He pointed to the classroom to their immediate right and then pointed to each one in order, as he explained who taught what in each room.  “This is Ms. Blake’s classroom.  Octavia teaches English as a second language, Spanish, and sign language in this classroom so you’ll get a lot of diversity in this area.  That room is Mr. Forrester, or Mr. L as his students call him. Lincoln teaches English and a creative writing class.  The one next door to yours is Ms. Reyes who teaches Chemistry, Biology, and Physics.  Please pardon any small explosions you may here from that classroom.  Then your classroom and to your right will be Ms. Griffin, who you met earlier I believe.  She teaches several different art classes. And last but not least is Mr. Green and Monty teaches advanced calculus, geometry, and a medley of mathematics that I know nothing about.”  Marcus finished with a laugh, drawing a chuckle out of Lexa as well.

 

Marcus led Lexa into the classroom he had pointed out as hers, swinging the door open to reveal a fairly large classroom. The walls were a simple white and matched the shiny, white tile of the floor.  There was one very large dry erase board positioned directly behind a large wooden desk with drawers, which would serve as Lexa’s desk. It had a new computer sat on top of it but was otherwise empty.  A small bookshelf sat behind the desk and a couple more like it were strategically placed around the room. There were several bulletin boards on the other three walls of the room but otherwise the walls were barren.  Two medium sized windows in the back of the room let in enough light from outside so that the room didn’t feel like a cell.  The majority of the room was taken up by twelve tables, each with two chairs placed at them for students.

 

“Ms. Rivers was in this classroom last year but she moved downstairs this year. She prefers a cooperative style of learning,” Marcus explained, signaling to the tables. “If you prefer something more traditional, I can try to get you single desks in here but I’m not sure I’ll be able to get it done before Monday,” he spoke thoughtfully.

 

“Oh, no need for that,” Lexa insisted politely.  “I can work with this.”

 

“Okay, that’s great. Uhm, you can decorate or rearrange the room however you like. No painting the walls though without approval from Mr. Jaha,” Marcus continued.  He led her past the desk and to another wood door on the opposite wall. He pulled a key out of his pocket and put it in the key hole, turning it, and swinging open the door to reveal a decent sized closet.  Inside were several shelves, a small coat rack, and two metal filing cabinets.  He handed Lexa two keys.  “The larger gold key is to the classroom and the smaller silver one goes to this closet.  The keys to the desk should be in the center drawer.  We don’t usually have too many issues here, but we do ask teachers to keep anything that has personal information of their students or their own, locked up.”

 

Lexa nodded her understanding and quickly attached the two keys to her key ring.  As she followed Marcus to the door to exit the room, she stopped and removed the desk keys and attached them to her key ring as well. 

 

Marcus spent another two hours showing Lexa around the school, to the soccer locker rooms, to the field and equipment room.  He showed her where the weight room was located and finally to the office that would be hers for her coaching position.  The room was just one door away from the locker room the team used and was larger than she expected.  Her high school coach had operated out of an office not much larger than a coat closet but this room easily held a large wooden desk, a small loveseat, a large TV for watching game tapes, and two chairs directly in front of the desk.  There were also a couple filing cabinets and a bookcase on the wall behind the desk.

 

As Lexa inspected the office, she noticed Marcus checking his watch for the third time in the last twenty minutes. 

 

“If you have other things you have to get done today, you can go take care of them Mr. Kane.  I think I pretty much have the lay of the land,” Lexa said.

 

Marcus looked hopeful, “You can call me Marcus, Lexa.  But are you sure?”

 

“Of course.  I have plenty to keep me busy, preparing for the school year in only three days.”

 

Marcus appeared to be convinced, “Okay, well if you need anything, you know where my office is, and here is my cell number.  If you need anything or have any questions and I’m not in my office, feel free to call or text me.”

 

“Okay, thank you again.”

 

The man smiled and slipped the key to the office into Lexa’s hand before practically running out of the room.  She heard the large metal door that led into the locker room, click shut behind him and she was left in silence.  She looked around the room, noticing that it was much more stocked than the classroom.  There were DVDs lined up on a shelf under the television, each one labeled with a different team and a date, most likely game tapes or scouting videos.  The desk had a computer and some office supplies neatly on the top and the walls had a couple motivational posters and a photograph of last year’s team. 

 

She was excited to watch game tapes and get to work on developing the team but she knew that setting up her classroom was a priority so she turned off the light to the office and pulled the door closed, locking it behind her.  She exited the athletic building moments later and made it back to what was going to be her classroom.  She hadn’t brought the limited amount of things she had to decorate with her today and a big shopping trip would be necessary to get other things.  She looked at the bland room and decided she would go ahead and arrange everything like she wanted it and then she would use tomorrow and Saturday to decorate her classroom as best she could before the school year started.

 

The task of organizing the desks in a way that she wanted them had proved more daunting than she had thought.  The tables were deceivingly heavy and Lexa had peeled off her blazer, and rolled up the sleeves of her white button up shirt as she pulled the last table into place, startling a bit when she heard a loud knock on the classroom door.  She looked up and was met with the bright blue eyes from earlier staring back at her. 

“Need any help?” Clarke asked as she stepped into the room and discreetly eyeballed Lexa’s muscular forearms and a hint of a tattoo peeking out from under her rolled sleeve.

 

Lexa looked around and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, “Uh…you actually just missed out on all the fun.  I think I’m done.”

 

“Too bad,” Clarke joked as she made her way further into the room.

 

“Can I help you with something?” the brunette asked.

 

“Actually, Marcus sent me to check on you.  He can be kind of single minded at times so I offered to take you under my wing so he didn’t have to worry about it and you didn’t have to be left to fend for yourself.”  Clarke chuckled at her own words but Lexa could tell that the woman was only half joking.

 

“Oh, well thanks,” she smiled kindly.

 

“Don’t mention it.  The first year at a new school can be kind of tough.  High schoolers have a way of smelling fear,” the blonde laughed.

 

“You act as though they are wild animals,” Lexa said lightly as she made her way around to sit down on the edge of her new desk.

 

Clarke mirrored her actions, sitting on the top of one of the tables that Lexa had just repositioned.  “Sometimes they’re worse,” she whispered conspiratorially, drawing a laugh out of Lexa.  “So what are you going to be teaching?  Please don’t say science, we have enough explosions with Raven around here.”

 

“No, definitely not.  I will be teaching history,” she responded.

 

“Oh, that’s nice…” Clarke tried.  “I’m sorry, that actually sounds awful.”  The laugh that followed made Lexa smile with her, despite the girl having just insulted her subject of choice.

 

“You’re not a fan of history?”

 

Clarke shook her head which caused her blonde locks to swing into her face a bit.  “I was never very good at history and found it a bit boring to be honest.  Maybe I just never had the right teacher though.  I’m sure you’re a very good teacher.” 

 

Lexa thought she sensed a bit of flirtation in Clarke’s tone and chalked it up to friendliness, “Well I hope so.  I haven’t really found out yet. I just finished my student teaching so this is my first time on my own.”

 

The blonde looked surprise, “Oh, I assumed you were closer to my age.”

 

“Well I know you’re never supposed to ask a lady this but how old are you?” Lexa asked as politely as she could.

 

“I’m 25,” the shorter girl informed her with a shrug.

 

“26,” Lexa said pointing to herself.  “You were right, we are close to the same age but I took a couple years off from school after I got hurt playing soccer.  I actually just went back and finished my degree.”

 

If the information was surprising to Clarke, she didn’t show any sign of it in her body language.  “Yeah, I heard Marcus talking about what a hot shot athlete you are.”

 

Lexa’s shoulders tensed and she dropped her head.  “Uh…was.” 

 

Everything in the brunette’s posture revealed that she didn’t want to talk about that particular subject so Clarke decided not to push, despite her curiosity.  She hopped off the desk and her feet hit the ground with a thud.  “Okay, well it looks like you’ve got everything under control right now.  I’ll let you get back to it.  I’m just next door if you need anything.”  She waited for Lexa to nod her understanding and then exited with one more warm smile.

 

Lexa watched her go and checked the clock.  There was really nothing else she could do until she got stuff from the store and home so she decided to go ahead and call it a day.  She slowly unrolled her sleeves and pulled the too warm blazer back onto her shoulders before grabbing her bag and exiting the classroom, locking the door on the way out. 

 

As she walked by, she peeked into Clarke’s classroom and saw the woman carefully moving a piece of art on canvas across the room.  She looked a moment too long and Clarke’s blue eyes met her green around the painting.  She smiled and waved as best she could with her hands full.  Lexa waved back at the woman and kept walking.  She mentally chastised herself as she walked towards her car.  She couldn’t believe she already had a crush on her classroom neighbor on the first day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have no excuses for how long this chapter took other than the fact I have bitten off more than I can chew and have too many active fics right now. I've got at least two that I am starting to wrap up so hopefully that will leave me with more time for this one. The other thing that takes a big part in the updates for this one, is I am emotionally invested in this fic probably more than any of my others. I have a personal connection to this fic and the story it's telling and it is very important to me to get it right. Thank you so much for your patience!

The next day, Lexa arrived to the high school bright and early.  There were even less cars in the parking lot than the day before so she assumed that most of the other teachers had already finished preparing their rooms and were enjoying their last Saturday and Sunday off before the school year started.  She quickly stuffed as many of her purchases as she could, in the rolling cart that she had bought the evening before, put her satchel over her shoulder, and slipped on her heavy backpack before making her way inside the school.  

The inside of the school was just as quiet as the parking lot, as she walked down the hallway, up the stairs, and to the area of the school where her new classroom was located.  She discreetly peeked in Clarke’s room, hoping that the art teacher would be finishing her classroom today but frowned in disappointment when the room was dark. 

It took her a moment of juggling to get her classroom keys out of her pocket without dropping all of her stuff but she accomplished the task finally and entered the dark classroom, hitting the light switch with her right elbow as she entered.  The fluorescent lights quickly illuminated the room and Lexa instantly remembered how much she had to do this weekend.  She was glad she had taken the time the day before to organize the tables because that would save her some time.  She was hoping to finish her classroom and most of her office today.

She gently placed her backpack on one of the tables and sat the rolling cart beside her desk.  She needed to get her desk set up, hang all of her posters, organize all of the books she would be handing out to her students for the semester, print out some paperwork for her students, and give her lesson plan one last look over.  Then she would have to go down to the locker rooms and get her office set up because her first practice with the soccer team was just two days into the school term.

She decided that setting up her desk was a good start and would be easy enough, so she quickly set to doing that.  It didn’t take her long to get everything to its place as Lexa had always been very particular about things and already had a general idea where she wanted everything.  Once she was satisfied with everything’s location, she pulled the leather bound lesson planner that Anya had bought for her to match her bag.  It was black with her name engraved on the front in silver and Lexa loved it.  She gently sat it down in the center of her desk and smiled contently at her finished product.

Next on Lexa’s list was to get all of her posters hung around the room and she was surprised to find that it was already nearing ten a.m.  She sighed as she got up and pulled all of the materials out of her rolling bag.  She had maybe went a bit overboard buying stuff but she was excited about her first classroom and making sure it was an environment where kids felt safe and could have fun learning.

She sat all of the posters out on a nearby table and grabbed the first one, which was a huge poster of all of the U.S. presidents, and the tape and looked around the room. She decided to put it on the far wall, opposite the door.  The next few posters were a mix of historical posters and inspirational quotes which she scattered around the room, strategically covering the walls.

Finally, she came to the last poster in the stack.  It was her favorite and she unrolled it carefully.  It was long and narrow and the background was bright yellow.  The middle was a collection of hands that were each holding a cellphone.  The cellphone photos held together, made one person but separately were different parts to different people, so as to promote diversity.  Across the top in rainbow letters it read “Safe Space.”  Below the phones read:  “Homophobic, Transphobic, Racist, and sexist comments and actions, as well as assaults about gender expression are not accepted here.  Let’s respect our differences.”  

Lexa felt self-conscious as she debated the poster quietly.  She knew that the poster combined with her general demeanor and style would immediately send a message to students, parents, and fellow teachers and she was nervous about what that could mean.  Despite her popularity as a star athlete, Lexa hadn’t always had the most pleasant high school experience.  She was outed at fifteen by a former friend and being gay in a conservative town hadn’t been easy.  Her parents didn’t kick her out but they weren’t exactly supportive, leaving Lexa with only a very small friend group and Anya to support her. She was had been ostracized by many people and only accepted because of her athletic ability.  Had she not been the star of the soccer team, she would have been treated even worse and Lexa didn’t want that for any student of hers.  Despite her fear of rejection, she needed these kids to know that there was always some place to turn to if they needed it.

She wanted the poster in a place of prominence and where her students could see it every day so she decided on an empty piece of wall near the dry erase board, behind her desk.  She pulled a chair over and stood on it, stretching to hang the poster high.  She was attempting to tear a piece of tape off to put on the second corner when she dropped the entire roll and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

“Shit,” Lexa cursed as she looked down at the roll of tape below her feet.

“Potty mouth,” a voice shamed her from the doorway and Lexa jumped at the unexpected noise.  Clarke stood in the door way with two cups of coffee in hand and a bright smile on her face.  She looked over Lexa who was frozen in place on top of the chair.  She was dressed more casually than the day before, sporting a pair of tight dark jeans, cuffed high enough to show off her black combat boots, and a simple black v neck on top, showing off much more of her toned arms and the tribal tattoo on her bicep.  The girl had style, that was for sure.

“Sorry, I dropped the tape,” Lexa explained. “Would you mind handing it to me?”

“Sure,” Clarke said as she sat one of the coffees down on Lexa’s desk and picked up the tape, handing it to Lexa.  She sat down on top of one of the tables near the front of the room much like she had done the day before and watched quietly as Lexa finished hanging the poster.

Lexa finished and stepped down from the chair to look at the poster.  “Do you think it will cause me trouble?” She asked Clarke who was eyeing the poster as well.

“Hmm...Probably not out loud.  We started the GSA and PFLAG groups two years ago and didn’t get a lot of push back.  There are always those asshole people who have something to say but for the most part, the town as a whole is pretty progressive,” Clarke explained.

“Really?  It’s not far from where I grew up and my town was far from ‘progressive,’” Lexa chuckled dryly.

“I think it’s kind of forced progression.  This city is mostly made up of transplants now because of the big cities growing around us.  Lots of people moved here to live close to the city but not in it.  Those people brought a more progressive mindset and the rest of the town just had to catch up or get left behind.”

Lexa nodded and put the chair she had been standing on away, at the very table Clarke was sitting on.  As she passed the table, she caught a whiff of Clarke’s perfume and noticed the girl smelled heavenly.  She looked relaxed in jeans and a band t shirt with converse shoes, leaned back on one hand with her legs crossed. “What are you doing here today?  I figured you would have already had your room all set up.”

“Oh, I do.  Thought you might need some company today while you finished up.  I’m your designated mentor remember?  I’ve got to make sure my mentees are taken care of,” Clarke winked.  “That coffee is for you by the way.”  She pointed at the coffee cup that she had sat on the desk.

“How’d you know I would be here?” Lexa asked as she took a sip of the coffee and groaned quietly at how good the hot liquid tasted.  

Clarke shrugged, “I took a chance on it.”

“What would you have done if I hadn’t been here?” Lexa asked playfully.

“Drank two coffees by myself?” Clarke laughed.

Lexa laughed and shook her head.  “Well, thank you for the coffee and the company.  It’s a little quiet here by myself.”

Clarke hummed around the mouthful of coffee she had taken.  “Enjoy it while it lasts,” she said after she had swallowed.  Once school starts Monday, you won’t be getting any peace and quiet here for a while.”

Lexa sat down at her desk and powered up the computer as she observed Clarke, who had stopped talking and was quietly admiring the room.  “Sorry, I’m listening to you.  I just have to get some stuff printed for the first day.  I hope you don’t mind if I work while we talk.”

“Of course not!  That’s why I’m here silly.  To keep you company while you work.  Anything I can do to help?”

Lexa shook her head.  “The company is more than enough.  Tell me more about the school?”

“What would you like to know?” Clarke asked.  She picked her legs up onto the table with her and crossed them, placing the coffee cup in the middle.

“How are the other teachers?” Lexa asked as she plugged her flash drive in and began looking through files to find what she wanted.

“Cool for the most part.  The ones in the area in particular.  Octavia and Raven are my two best friends in the world.  O teaches ESL, Spanish, and sign language as well as being the coach of the softball team.  She can be a bit standoffish but once you get to know her she’s really cool and incredibly loyal.  She’s super protective of her students because her group ends up getting bullied a lot,” Clarke explained sadly.  “Raven is the swim coach and the co-sponsor for the academic decathlon team and is the exact opposite from Octavia.  She’s going to overwhelm you from day one.  The best bet when Hurricane Raven comes through is to just grab something and hold on.  The kids absolutely love her.  Her room is on the other side of yours through that wall,” Clarke said pointing to the wall to her left.  “Don’t be surprised to hear a lot of ruckus and an occasional explosion but she keeps it safe for the most part.”

“For the most part?” Lexa asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well she burnt her eyebrows off one time, which was hilarious, and burnt a patch of ceiling one time but that’s pretty much the worst of it.”

“She doesn’t get in trouble for things like that?” Lexa was already so curious about the inner workings of this school.  It was very different from where she had done her student teaching with a lot of older, stuck up teachers.

“Jaha has slapped her on the wrist a time or two but no one can deny that her methods work.  Ninety eight percent of her junior and senior students perform above average on the science section of the SAT, she’s been chosen as teacher of the year for the last two years, and the parents rave about her.  She’s unconventional but it works for her,” Clarke shrugged. 

“That’s impressive.”

Clarke nodded.  “Lincoln is a sweetheart.  He teaches English, Literature, and creative writing and he’s the coach of the wrestling team.  I think you’ll really him.  He and Octavia have been dating for a while now but they keep it on the down low from the kids because you know how kids are.”

Lexa nodded as she put the finishing touches on the files she had open.

“Then there’s Monty.  He’s also a sweetheart and a total nerd but the most love-able kind.  He teaches like every math there is and is the sponsor for the chess club, the debate team, and sponsors the academic decathlon club with Raven,” she said.  She had unfolded her legs and was swinging them lazily, like a small child.

“What about you?” Lexa asked as she finished her work and looked towards Clarke.

“What about me?” 

“What do you do?  I know you’re the art teacher but what else do you do?” Lexa asked, digging through the drawer for the paper that Marcus had gave her, detailing all of the printer locations in the school.

“Oh!  Well, I help out with the art club and I sponsor the GSA and our PFLAG club,” Clarke said nonchalantly.

Lexa’s head shot up so fast that she almost got dizzy at the sudden movement.  “Really?  Big ally?” she questioned.  She had been questioning Clarke’s flirty nature since they had met the day before.

Clarke quirked an eyebrow at Lexa and smiled.  “Do I not look like I could be a part of the community?”

“Of course…I just assumed…” Lexa stuttered.

“I’m just messing with you, Lexa.  People assume I’m straight all the time.  I’m not if you were wondering.  You okay with that?” Clarke asked flirtatiously.

“Of course!”  Lexa all but shouted before clearing her throat at Clarke’s smile.  She didn’t know what was wrong with her.  She rarely got nervous around people but Clarke got under her skin.  “I mean, I would have no right to not be okay with it since I’m a member too.”

“I figured,” Clarke chuckled.

“You figured?”

“Yeah, no straight girl wears the things you wear Lexa,” Clarke said laughing.  “You might as well have ‘lesbian’ stamped on your forehead.

Lexa laughed too and looked down at her outfit.  “Should I wear something different the first day?”

“Absolutely not.  First of all, who cares?  I’m pretty sure most of the student body knows I’m not straight.  I don’t announce it to them but I’m not secretive about it either.  Second of all, I’m a big fan of your style so I don’t think you should change.” 

The complimented was followed with a wink and Lexa felt herself starting to blush.  She thanked whatever deities that existed that her tan skin allowed her to hide the blush some as she cleared her throat.  “Well, I have to go pick up the files I just printed.  Care to show me to the printer where I sent them?”

“Sure!” Clarke said excitedly as she hopped off the table and dusted off the back of her jeans.  “Which one did you send it too?”

“Printer 7?” Lexa said as she checked the list Marcus had given her.

“That’s across the school,” Clarke laughed.

“But Marcus’ list says it’s the nearest one,” Lexa defended, showing Clarke the paper as if to provide proof.

Clarke took the list that Lexa offered her and looked it over.  “Yeah, he gave you the wrong list.  This is the one from the beginning of school, last year.  Our IT guy, Jasper, went in during winter break and renamed all of the printers.  The nearest one to use now is printer 12.” 

“Shit,” Lexa said.

“No worries.  I have nowhere to be today,” Clarke shrugged. 

Lexa stood up from her desk and followed Clarke out of the classroom, pulling the door closed behind her.  They walked side by side closely, maybe too close for relative strangers, but Lexa didn’t know many people in the area and she felt the strangest draw to Clarke.  “So you cleared your whole day to hang out with me?  Who you barely know.”  Lexa joked.

“Psshh,” Clarke scoffed.  “I just didn’t have anything better to do.”

Lexa saw Clarke’s playful smile sneaking out again and shook her head.  “See…I think you’re lying to me now.  I think you met me yesterday and thought, ‘dang, the new girl’s pretty cool.  I’m going to get to know her better.’”  Lexa was feeling a little bit braver.

“Nahhh,” Clarke denied and then bumped Lexa’s shoulder.  They walked in silence for a few seconds before Clarke spoke again.  “Tell me some more about yourself.”

Lexa’s shoulders tensed up the tiniest bit as she walked.  She felt herself unconsciously putting a steps more distance between Clarke and herself.  She didn’t like talking about herself or her history with anyone, but sharing too much with the bubbly blonde felt unavoidable for some reason.  Clarke was easy to talk to and joke with and that scared Lexa a little.

Clarke must have sensed Lexa’s hesitation because she re-filled the space that Lexa had created and bumped her gently with her shoulder.  “This is a safe space, you know?” she said gently.  The smile she added on to it let Lexa know that she was being playful to break the tension but her words were very serious. 

Lexa shook her head and even worked up a smile.  “I’m not used to talking about myself.  I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Well, I know you’re teaching history and you’re going to be the soccer coach.  How long have you played?”  Clarke hadn’t forgotten Lexa’s shut down the day before when she asked about soccer and was curious.

“Uh…I played for twenty years before I was forced to retire my sophomore year of college,” Lexa said.

“What happened?”  Clarke asked curiously. 

Lexa chuckled nervously.  “I don’t really talk about it much but, uh, I messed up my knee pretty bad during a playoff game.  After about six surgeries, it still wasn’t healing right and they told me I was done.” 

“Damn.  That’s rough.”  Clarke paused and Lexa assumed the conversation was done after that.  Most people were nosey about why she had retired but no one ever asked for more information but Clarke was continually surprising her today.   “What exactly did you do to it?”  She asked cautiously.  She could tell Lexa was hesitant to talk about this but she also felt like the woman needed to talk about it.

Lexa hesitated before clearing her throat.  “I tore three major ligaments.  I’m not sure if you’re familiar with knee injuries but my doctor called it ‘the triple threat.’  I tore my ACL, PCL, and LCL.”

“Jesus, you don’t hear many cases of three being torn at once outside of car accidents,” Clarke said.  When Lexa looked at her questioningly, she added, “My mom’s an orthopedic surgeon.”

They had arrived to the small room with the printer and Lexa grabbed her papers and they headed back to the classroom. 

“Not usually,” Lexa continued.  “During the playoff game, I got a cross from my teammate that was a little ahead of me.  I tried to beat the keeper to it but we arrived at almost the same time and collided.  She left the game with a mild concussion and I left with a useless knee,” Lexa chuckled humorlessly.  “I went through all the surgeries and physical therapy hoping that I could come back, at least, for my senior year but it never happened.  I lost my scholarship, was given sad pats on the back by the professional recruiters that had been talking to me, and finally was asked to turn in my jersey.”

“That had to have been hard,” Clarke sympathized sadly.

“It wasn’t easy.  To be honest, I kind of went off the reservation for a while.  Dropped out of school, moved out on my own, got a job doing something I hated, and dated a lot of girls who were not good for me,” Lexa said.

“That sounds like a rough go.  What brought you out of it?” Clarke asked as they ascended the stairs back to Lexa’s classroom.

“You know Anya Woods?  She’s a phys ed teacher here.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Anya is my sister and she pretty much kicked my ass.  She told me that I was wasting my talents and she was done watching me wallow in self-pity.  I got pissed at her at first but I realized she was right so I went back to school and finished my degree in a little less than a year and here I am,” Lexa said as they arrived back to the door of her classroom and she opened the door for Clarke to enter.

“I didn’t know you were Anya’s sister but that sounds like her.  She’s very…blunt,” Clarke laughed.  Lexa sat the papers down on one of the tables and started sorting them into different piles.  Clarke immediately grabbed part of the stack and helped her.

“Blunt is a word for it,” Lexa laughed.  “She’s a hard ass for sure but it’s what I needed.  I’m glad she did it.”

“Because you got to meet me?” Clarke asked and batted her eyelashes.

Lexa smiled back and rolled her eyes playfully.  “Exactly,” she played along with Clarke’s flirting. 

They worked in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes, sorting the papers into piles.  Once everything was in order, Clarke clapped her hands.  “What’s next?”

Lexa looked around at the classroom and was very happy about the way it turned out.  “I think I’m done here.  I just have to go down and get my office set up now.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Lexa was surprised at Clarke’s eagerness.  “You sure?”

“I’m sure.  I told you I’m here to keep you company today for as long as it takes.  If need be, I’ll go get more coffee for us,” Clarke said with a wink.

They talked and laughed together as Lexa led them through the school and to the parking lot where she expected Clarke to head towards her own car but was surprised when the girl continued to follow her.  “Mind if I bum a ride with you? I figured it made more sense than both of us driving to the other side of the school.”

“I don’t mind at all.  I may have to clean some junk out of the passenger seat,” Lexa laughed.  She led them to her black pickup truck and cleaned a few things out of the passenger seat as promised.  She then stepped back and signaled for Clarke to get in.  Lexa chuckled as she watched the shorter girl attempt to get in the truck, which included her having to hold onto the ceiling handle and jump.  Lexa’s truck sat a little bit higher than normal since it was four wheel drive and wasn’t exactly short people friendly. 

“What are you laughing at?” Clarke joked as she finally got settled in the seat and looked at Lexa with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing at all,” Lexa laughed back as she made sure Clarke was in and then closed the door for the blonde.

The two spent the rest of the day setting up Lexa’s office and Lexa may have drug it out a little longer than she needed to, so that she could spend more time with the blonde.  The girl was witty and smart and sweet and Lexa found herself telling Clarke more about herself than she had told even her closest friends.  It surprised her how easy it was to just spill her guts to Clarke and that Clarke was just as willing to share information about herself.  She learned about Clarke’s friendship with Raven and Octavia and how Clarke had started her college career being pre-med but had made the decision to become an art major when her dad passed away her sophomore year.  “I just decided that life is short and unexpected things happen and I didn’t want to live the best part of my life doing something that I wasn’t in love with,” she had said. 

Once they had finished setting up her office, Lexa plopped down on the loveseat that faced the TV and to her surprise, Clarke dropped down next to her, a little closer than expected.

“Finally done,” Lexa said with a sigh.

“Really?”  Clarke asked as she looked around the room.

“Yeah, why?  Do you think it needs something else?” Lexa asked as she surveyed the room.

Clarke shook her head.  “I think it’s okay like it is, but you don’t have anything that represents your own accomplishments in here.”

“I decided to skip out on reminders of my failed soccer career.  That’s probably not particularly encouraging to young athletes,” Lexa joked but Clarke could tell the comment made her heart heavy.

“I think you’re looking at it all wrong,” Clarke said as she stood up and turned to offer Lexa a hand up as well.  The brunette took the offered hand and stood up on her sore feet. 

“What do you mean?” Lexa asked as she turned off the lights to the office and pulled the door closed behind her and Clarke.  Clarke seemed to be thinking hard about her next words as they walked out to Lexa’s truck and the taller girl opened the door for Clarke once again. 

Once Lexa got in the truck and started it up, Clarke finally began talking.  “I think that what happened to you sucks.  I’ve known some athletes in my life who had their dreams cut short for one reason or another and it can be devastating; you can’t keep carrying that feeling of failure or unfulfilled expectations with you everywhere you go.  You’re still upset because you didn’t get to live up to your full potential but maybe you taking that path wasn’t the universe’s plan in the long run.  Maybe you were meant to be right here, helping young athletes realize their potential and helping them achieve their dreams.  Maybe you didn’t get to go pro and make the cover of Sports Illustrated so that one of your players will be able to one day.  The universe has a funny way of making things happen and leading people into each other’s lives.   I think if you let go of some of the sadness and anger you have towards what happened to you, you’ll find that you can still live a full life that you love.  You can help kids inside and outside of the classroom.  You just have to open your mind and your heart to it, and part of that is embracing your past instead of pushing it away.”  Clarke finished by looking directly into Lexa’s eyes with an intensity that made the taller girl shift uncomfortably in her seat.  They had arrived back to the parking lot now and Lexa cleared her throat and finally broke eye contact with Clarke.

“I thought you were an art teacher, not a psychology teacher,” Lexa joked back half-heartedly.  The words had hit her deeper than she could have ever imagined.  No one had ever broken it down like that for her.  Anya had been a bit harsher with her and her friends and family had all given her pity but this woman who she barely knew had given her a way to look at her life in a whole new light. 

Clarke shrugged, “I just know from experience that if you spend too much time living in the past, you’ll get to your future and realize that you never really lived your present.”

Lexa was speechless as Clarke opened the door and hopped down out of the truck.  She took one last look at Lexa and smiled.  “Just think on it.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Lexa.  I’ll see you on Monday.”  With that she closed the door and was gone, walking towards her car a few parking spaces away. 

Lexa sat in her truck long after Clarke had pulled out of the parking lot with a wave and disappeared down the road.  She finally put her truck in drive and started her commute home.  She was glad that Clarke had come to keep her company today so that she could actually take Sunday off to spend some time to herself.  She had a lot to think about after today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well what do we think? I know it's not long but there's a lot of dialogue and a little more in depth into who Lexa is as a character. I would love to know what you guys are thinking so far and what you would like to see in the future of this fic. Thank you again for your patience and your lovely comments and all the kudos! Each and every one of you are amazing! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think in the comments and if you think we've got a good start here. I love hearing your thoughts <3 see you soon!


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